


yeah, like a date

by haikyuutrash



Series: kuroken cafe AU [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cafe AU, First Kiss, M/M, back with part two, never been on a date irl but i tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuutrash/pseuds/haikyuutrash
Summary: Kenma could never understand how things somehow fell into place nearly all of the time. He should have been fired and forced into another job. He should have been working double shifts to earn enough to support himself and pay the compensation. But here he was, standing in front of a mirror and trying to figure out if what he was wearing was too sloppy or just right.###Kenma finds himself going on a date with a customer he'd spilled a drink on.orThe second part of the cafe AU that I wrote. :D
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: kuroken cafe AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705228
Comments: 12
Kudos: 82





	yeah, like a date

**Author's Note:**

> back with part two of the cafe AU ([a cup of latte](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23376124))!!!!! :D hope i did it justice UwU and enjoy!! <3
> 
> ~~side note: school closed = more time to write fanfics hehe~~

Kenma could never understand how things somehow fell into place nearly all of the time. He should have been fired and forced into another job. He should have been working double shifts to earn enough to support himself and pay the compensation. But here he was, standing in front of a mirror and trying to figure out if what he was wearing was too sloppy or just right.

It had always seemed like he would never be in this sort of situation. He, Kozume Kenma, asked out on a date? Far-fetched, much --- but apparently, he’d been wrong. He slipped on one of his slightly oversized hoodies over his t-shirt, tilting his head slightly as he eyed himself in the mirror. He shrugged. Presentable enough. He adjusted his hair a little before walking out of the room.

###

“I don’t remember you working on Saturdays,” Shouyou said casually as he and Kenma were leaving the school campus. It was a day after Kenma had been asked out by someone he’d honestly just met, though it would be lying to say he wasn’t looking forward to it. A quick glance at his watch showed that he was still early, so he slowed his footsteps a little as they neared the school gates.

“It’s not work,” Kenma started. “It’s...hard to explain.”

Shouyou raised his eye at Kenma. “Hard to explain?”

Kenma shrugged. “You know about that time I spilled coffee on one of the customers?” Shouyou nodded and Kenma sighed quietly. “He asked for me to buy him a cup of latte...as a customer.” Kenma quoted the exact words that the student had said, mostly because he was still in a slight surprise and disbelief --- in a positive way, of course.

Shouyou’s eyes lit up. “So...like a date?” he asked excitedly.

Kenma thought for a while before he nodded. “Yeah, like a date,” he said. Then a few seconds later, he added in a quieter and slightly unsure voice, “...I think.”

It still gave him a funny feeling thinking about that. He’d only spoken to Tetsurou a few times, the past few days being the only times it wasn’t work-related, but for some strange reason, it felt as if they’d known each other for longer than that. Maybe it was because Tetsurou had always been there, even when Kenma first started working at Nekoma cafe, even _before_ that. It was a silent presence --- each knew the other was there but neither really took action about it.

Now that he thought about it, Kenma had always been watching Tetsurou. Not in a creepy stalker way, but more so because he found him curiously interesting. Every weekday, without fail, he would come to the cafe and sit at the same table. Kenma had asked the barista about him before, only to find that even though he had always been a regular, he’d started to come more frequently after Kenma had started working there.

It was a little weird, but Kenma had always dismissed it as a coincidence. Except...now it seemed like more. All of this, it didn’t make sense. To Kenma, nobody would just ask a person they didn’t know much about on a date, much less someone who’d spilled coffee on them. Then maybe, just maybe, Tetsurou had always been watching Kenma too.

Kenma felt a small tint of red rising under his eyes. Tetsurou had been...watching him? No way. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to do that. He was just another person --- an ordinary college student working part time at a cafe. There wasn’t anything special about him. He was neither attractive nor charismatic --- _both_ of which he found that Tetsurou was. Then perhaps Tetsurou was just poking fun at him. Kenma frowned at the thought of that, not because it was something that would make him upset, though it indeed was, but more because he didn’t like the thought of it being just a one-off date before they went back to being nothing more than a waiter and a customer.

“Kenma!”

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his friend’s voice. “Huh?”

“You were in a daze,” Shouyou said, looking mildly concerned. “And by that I mean that you looked _really_ deep in thought.” They had already reached the part outside the school gates where they would normally part. Their footsteps came to a stop.

Kenma blinked, looking at Shouyou. “I was?” Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising for him if the answer was ‘yes’ because he had been thinking about...things. Things, meaning the date that would happen in less than an hour and of course, Tetsurou.

Shouyou nodded and grinned. “Yeah...but I think I know what you’re thinking about.”

Kenma frowned slightly. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do on a date,” he finally said.

“Hm...” Shouyou tilted his head to the sky thoughtfully. “To be honest, the best way is to just be yourself.” He gave Kenma a supportive and encouraging smile.

“I guess so,” Kenma agreed. Just be himself? He was pretty sure he could do that. It was just a date, he reminded himself, as much as ‘just a date’ seemed to be undermining the whole situation. He didn’t know how serious Tetsurou had been about the whole thing, though Kenma did hope that it wasn’t just to play with him as payback for what happened.

Seconds later, Shouyou took a quick glance at his phone, then waved excitedly to Kenma. “Well, I’ve gotta get going. Have fun on your _date_!” he said, placing a heavy emphasis on the last word, before jogging off in another direction from where Kenma was headed.

Kenma sighed lightly and smiled before resuming his walk to Nekoma cafe. It was going to be a long day, at least it would feel so for him. But he wasn’t complaining about that at all --- he had to admit that he did look forward to this so-called ‘date’, even if just a little. He’d never been on one before, and he certainly did not know what to expect. He did know, however, that he was about to find out.

He neared the entrance of Nekoma cafe, where Tetsurou was standing by the entrance. The moment Kenma got close, the student looked up with a bright smile forming on his face. “Hey,” he said, walking over. He was dressed in a white v-neck with an unbuttoned red flannel shirt over as well as jeans with small rips at his kneecaps. For some reason, he seemed more cheerful than usual and Kenma couldn’t help but stare at him.

“...Hey,” he finally said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, trying to be as normal as possible because the more he thought about it, the more the thought of this being a date made him feel weird. Not in a bad way, though, but just in a neutral sense.

Tetsurou smiled softly. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you in something other than your work uniform,” he said as he opened the door of the cafe and the two of them walked in. Kenma shrugged. He’d always been working when they met.

“Table for two?” the waiter who was standing by the entrance asked with a polite smile. He and Kenma knew each other --- they were colleagues who took the same shift from Mondays to Wednesdays and were pretty much friends. It was strange to be here as a customer, Kenma realised all of a sudden. Not that he hadn’t thought about it before, but he got the most unusual urges to start taking orders.

Oblivious to how awkward Kenma was acting in front of his co-worker who was now witnessing him on a date, Tetsurou nodded and followed the waiter to their table, which so happened to be his usual one. “Have fun,” the waiter said to Kenma with a teasing smile before walking away, leaving Kenma to suppress the colour in his face.

Tetsurou pulled out a chair for Kenma before he took a seat at the opposite side of the table, opening the menu. Kenma picked up the menu in front of him and did the same, even though he knew pretty much everything on it by heart. It was his workplace, after all --- how could he not? “Ready to order?” Tetsurou asked, having noticed that Kenma was just staring blankly at the menu.

Kenma looked up and nodded, raising his hand to alert the waiter, who came over promptly. “I’ll have a bowl of minestrone soup,” Kenma said. He wasn’t particularly hungry and he had a rather small appetite, so that would suffice as his breakfast. The waiter, the same one who’d greeted them at the entrance, nodded and scribbled down his order.

There was a short pause before Tetsurou spoke. “I’d like the waffles.”

Once again, the waiter wrote down the order. “Anything else?” he asked.

Tetsurou shrugged. “Not that I can think of.”

The waiter was about to leave when Kenma suddenly remembered something. “One more thing,” he said. He took a brief glance at Tetsurou and then back at the waiter. “A cup of latte, please.” When he’d turned back to look at Tetsurou, he found that the boy had a look of surprise on his face as if he’d forgotten that part of the deal completely. Kenma gave him the smallest hint of a smile before looking down at the table as the waiter left.

“So,” Tetsurou said in an attempt to start a conversation, “you’re in college too, I’m guessing?”

Kenma nodded. “A different one from yours, though,” he said, recalling how he’d noted the different uniforms previously.

Tetsurou frowned slightly. “That’s a pity,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.

Kenma stared at the table, wondering what things would be like if they _had_ been in the same college. Maybe they would have known each other already, maybe even become friends a long time ago. He pursed his lips slightly. He would have liked that.

Moments later, he felt a strange sensation through his body, as though someone was looking at him. He tilted his head up, his eyes meeting with Tetsurou’s, which made him look like he was in a daze.

And maybe, he was. “...Tetsurou?” Kenma said quietly. Tetsurou’s name felt foreign on his tongue, in a way that made him want to say it again.

The other blinked, turning his head slightly as he snapped out his daze and looked at Kenma. “Sorry,” he said in a rushed voice, his face hiding the smallest tinge of red.

Had he been...staring at Kenma? At the thought of that, Kenma shifted his gaze to the table once more, avoiding eye contact with Tetsurou. “It’s fine,” he found the voice to say.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. “Kenma?” Tetsurou suddenly said, causing Kenma to turn and look at him. “...You look cute today.”

The gears in Kenma’s head immediately stopped clicking, his mind going completely blank as his face turned to a deep shade of red. “...Hah?”

Immediately, Tetsurou’s face flushed and he waved his hands defensively in front of himself. “I didn’t mean it that way! I mean, you look cute every---ack! I meant you look different today compared to when you’re in your uniform and I think it’s---” He finally cut himself off and buried his face in his hands, though he couldn’t hide the obvious colour taking over his face.

“...Thanks,” Kenma said, still looking completely blank because, well, he didn’t know how to react to this _at all_. “I...need to go to the bathroom,” he said quickly and stood up, walking briskly towards the bathroom before Tetsurou could see how flustered he was becoming.

“Kenma,” the waiter who had served their table said with a smirk as soon as Kenma walked out of Tetsurou’s field of vision. “How’s it going?”

Kenma leaned his back against the wall, tilting his head up. “Tora,” he said, looking up at the waiter, “don’t even ask.”

Tora laughed. “Your face is completely red, you know?”

Kenma frowned, turning away. “Yes, I am completely aware.”

“Alright then,” Tora said, smiling in a teasing way. “Don’t keep your date waiting.” He smirked and walked off to take more orders.

Kenma sighed and walked into the bathroom, going straight to the sink. He didn’t actually need to be here, other than to wash his face and hopefully get the colour back to normal. With his hands at either side of the sink, he leaned forward, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Never in his life had he felt like this. It wasn’t like those lovey dovey feelings, but something that seemed a bit more like...honestly, Kenma didn’t know the words to say it. His face felt hot, a strange feeling throughout his body. He lifted his right hand and slapped the side of his face gently. No, this wasn’t a dream. Turning on the tap, he let his hands idle under the running water for a few seconds before splashing it at his face in a rash decision, immediately regretting it when he realised that his hair was now slightly damp. Dammit, he was such a mess.

He dried his hands with a paper towel, wiping the water off his face with the sleeves of his hoodie. Tetsurou was probably wondering where he was now, but Kenma was afraid that if he went back there, he was just going to get flustered all over again. What was up with this whole thing? It wasn’t as if he’d never been called cute before --- he and Shouyou were the kind of friends to say that to each other in a purely platonic and joking way --- but coming from Tetsurou? That was a completely different story and Kenma couldn't even tell why.

 _”Just be yourself.”_ He quickly reminded himself of Shouyou’s words. With a quiet sigh, he pushed open the door and walked out. He could only hope that he would somehow be able to control his emotions from showing just for the rest of this date. After that, he could fall into the pits of whatever the hell this feeling was. But not now, not in front of Tetsurou. ~~Kenma didn’t know why he cared so much.~~

“You’re back,” Tetsurou stated as Kenma took a seat again, a small smile on his face. Any trace of red on his face had diminished in the time Kenma had been gone “The food came while you were gone.”

Kenma nodded as he noticed the bowl of soup in front of him. He picked up a spoon from beside the bowl and drank a small bit of the soup. It sent a warm feeling within him, especially in the air-conditioned cafe.

“Your hair,” Tetsurou observed, looking at Kenma. “It’s damp.”

Looking up from his soup, Kenma touched his hair gently with his left hand that wasn’t holding the spoon. “Oh,” he said flatly, as if he hadn’t just splashed water at his face minutes ago. He looked down and continued drinking his soup. He was most certainly not going to tell Tetsurou anything about that.

“That’s all you’re having?” Tetsurou curiously asked as he cut out and ate a piece of his waffles after having spreaded butter over them. Kenma nodded. He watched as Tetsurou cut out a few squares of his waffles and offered them to Kenma. “You should eat more than just that,” he said.

Kenma looked at him defiantly, but didn’t resist when he put the waffles on the small dish that was beside Kenma. “...Fine.” He poked the food with his fork before putting it in his mouth. To be honest, it turned out to be pretty good.

Tetsurou looked at him with a soft smile. “Is it good?”

Kenma nodded. He looked down at his soup and then back at Tetsurou. Since he’d been offered food, it only seemed right to him that he did the same. He held his spoon out to Tetsurou with a bit of his soup on it.

Tetsurou stared at him in confusion for a few seconds. “Are you…?”

Kenma looked at him dead in the eye. “I’m offering it to you.”

“Thanks,” Tetsurou mumbled, averting his eyes as he took the spoon and drank the soup. “...It’s good.”

Kenma nodded. “I know.” He drank some more of his soup, unaware of how Tetsurou was now looking at him with his face completely red. Kenma eventually looked up at him. “Is something wrong?”

Tetsurou shook his head profusely before returning to eat his own food. Kenma subtly raised an eye at him. Weird.

The rest of the meal was in silence, other than the occasional small talk that didn’t last more than a few minutes. It wasn't a bad thing, though. Kenma, surprisingly enough, _did_ enjoy Tetsurou’s company, even if there wasn’t a word spoken between them.

Tetsurou took the last sip of his latte after about half an hour, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Should we go?” he asked hesitantly, as if he wasn’t ready to leave yet, though they clearly had to clear the table for the customers waiting in line.

After a few moments, Kenma nodded, standing up as Tetsurou followed suit. The two of them headed to the counter, where they each paid for their own food other than Kenma paying for the latte, despite Tetsurou’s protests. He did feel, even after all of this, that he was responsible for the compensation and he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it until he paid for the latte.

As Kenma stepped out of the cafe, he felt a wave of disappointment overcome him. Now that the date was over, did it mean they would part ways? Not that he was dying to stay with Tetsurou, but it was an interesting day, to put it at the very least. It was a new experience for Kenma, one he wouldn’t mind trying again.

“Do you still have free time?” Tetsurou asked as they stood by the entrance of the cafe. Kenma thought for a while before nodding. He was completely free on the weekends, other than the school work he’d have to finish. But compared to this, his school work could take a backseat for now. Tetsurou smiled. “I’ll like to bring you somewhere.” With a curious look on his face, Kenma agreed, following beside Tetsurou as he began walking.

It was a few minutes later, maybe about ten, that they reached the entrance of a park. On the way, Kenma had tried to ask several times where they were headed, only to receive the same answer from Tetsurou --- that he would find out soon enough. “We’re here,” Tetsurou said, walking into the park with Kenma beside him.

Kenma turned his head to look around. At this time, it was a relatively decent crowd. It was neither too crowded nor empty, with most people having breakfast at this time. “Why’d you bring me here?” Kenma asked, though it didn’t come out demanding at all.

Tetsurou smiled. “I thought it would be nice to take a walk. You know, since it’s spring and all.” Trees of cherry blossoms lined the pathway, creating a somewhat magical feel. Kenma felt the urge to smile at such a peaceful and calming ambience lingering around them.

“...Thank you,” he said after a while, in a quiet voice as his gaze remained on the path ahead.

“What for?” Tetsurou asked, turning to look at him.

Kenma turned to Tetsurou with a small smile. “For bringing me here.”

He saw the faintest blush on Tetsurou’s face as he turned to look away from Kenma. “...My pleasure.”

Kenma looked down at the fallen cherry blossoms on the ground, carefully avoiding stepping on them. He felt a shiver travel through his body as his fingers unintentionally brushed against Tetsurou’s. Even for just a split second of contact, Tetsurou’s hand felt warm against Kenma’s. Kenma shuddered for the shortest moment. It felt mildly strange, but such that it made him want more.

Moments later, he felt Tetsurou lock his pinky with Kenma’s, gently and in a way that allowed Kenma to let go whenever he wanted to. He bit his lip gently, curling his fingers up a little so his pinky was linked to Tetsurou’s and wouldn’t slip away. Kenma didn’t know what had gotten into him, doing this with someone he’d only really talked to a few days ago. It felt comforting, however, even if Kenma couldn’t explain why.

Continuing their leisurely stroll through the park, Kenma could feel his heart racing. It wasn’t a new feeling, since it was similar to how he would feel after a run, but even in its familiarity, it held something with a different meaning. As they neared the fountain in the heart of the park, Tetsurou led them to a bench at the side of the path, where they sat down with their fingers still latching onto each other.

“This is the first time I’ve been to this park,” Kenma admitted, staring at the flowing water of the fountain. He’d known of this park, and he’d thought of coming, but given his bust college life, he hadn’t found the time to come. Even Shouyou had been here several times, but every time he asked Kenma to come along, Kenma couldn’t make it.

Tetsurou turned to look at him, as if surprised that Kenma hadn’t been here before, which of course, was indeed a surprise to many. “I’ve been here a few times,” Tetsurou said, looking into the distance with a small smile hanging onto the corners of his mouth. “But with you, I like it a lot better.”

A warm feeling rose within Kenma. “I like it too. With you, I mean.” Kenma had always been a pretty candid person, who’d speak his mind, even in this sort of situation. Of course, that didn’t mean that he said it without feeling the small bit of awkward embarrassment at saying such sappy words.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Tetsurou said, his eyes on one of the many cherry blossom trees.

Kenma felt a smile tugging at his lips. “...Yeah.” Indeed, it was --- the way the blossoms lined the paths with their light pink; the way they slowly drifted to the ground, fluttering slightly in the wind; the way they made this whole place feel like a painting, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

“Reminds me a lot of someone I know,” Tetsurou said quietly, leaning his back against the backrest of the bench.

Kenma felt a weird sensation in his chest, as if it pained him a little to hear Tetsurou say that. To hear Tetsurou say that he found someone beautiful, someone who was most definitely not Kenma because...why would it be him? It was probably his ex, Kenma guessed. And thinking about that made him feel a little disappointed.

“Hey...you okay?” Tetsurou asked Kenma, looking at him with mild concern on his face. “You look a little...down.”

Was it that obvious? Kenma looked away. “It’s nothing.” Tetsurou’s private life was none of Kenma’s business, anyway.

Without another word, the two of them sat there in silence for a few more minutes, absorbing themselves in the ambience. It was around seven minutes later that Tetsurou stood up. “I’ve got to go somewhere,” he said, sounding a little disappointed that this date of theirs was coming to an end.

Kenma stood up too, their fingers slipping apart. “...Okay.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground, his finger still tingling from Tetsurou’s touch.

“Kenma,” Tetsurou said quietly, causing the other to look up. “...Thank you for going on a date with me.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I...really appreciate this.” Dropping his hand to his side, he smiled softly at Kenma.

Kenma looked at him for a split second before smiling as well, though half-heartedly at that. He didn’t want this to end, but the way Tetsurou was speaking made it seem like this was going to be over in just a matter of minutes.

“I hope,” Tetsurou continued, his eyes travelled to the side, away from Kenma, “that we can do this again.” The second half of his words were significantly quieter than the first had been. Before Kenma could respond, however, Tetsurou took him by surprise and leaned forward, bending down and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek.

Kenma felt his face burning, but even so, he kept himself collected. Slowly, he found enough of his voice to open his mouth and speak in the quietest voice. “You missed.”

He tilted his head up and kissed Tetsurou on his lips.

He could see Tetsurou’s eyes widening in shock, before they were gradually lidded as he kissed Kenma back. Kenma didn’t know what surprised him more --- the fact that he’d gotten the courage to do something like that, or the fact that Tetsurou had kissed him back. Well, both of them were surprising. He could feel Tetsurou’s lips moving against his, in a gentle and careful way, yet also a way that made Kenma want more.

They stayed like this for about half a minute, just the two of them standing there in the heart of the park, only parting when Kenma needed to catch his breath. Kenma had surprised himself greatly. Never would he have imagined kissing someone on their first date. But with Tetsurou...maybe more was possible than he thought.

“That...was my first kiss,” Tetsurou said, still looking a little stunned.

Kenma blinked, then his face recoloured to a light shade of red. “...Same.”

There was a short pause before Tetsurou spoke again. “That someone I mentioned earlier,” he said, looking Kenma in the eye, “it’s you.”

“...Oh,” Kenma said, feeling a lot lighter all of a sudden.

Tetsurou bit his lip and smiled. “Maybe...we could do this again?” he asked hopefully.

Kenma smiled. “Sure.”

“Great! I’ll text you tonight,” Tetsurou said, giving him a quick wave and another smile before heading off.

Kenma felt a fluttery feeling in his chest as he watched Tetsurou leave. Perhaps, it was because he knew this wasn’t the last time they would be like this. Slowly but surely, a silent smile found its way onto his face.

Because all of this, as crazy of a situation as it was, Kenma found that he loved every moment of it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed it!! (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*
> 
> my tumblr --> ([x](https://hq-iteza.tumblr.com/))


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